Home > Firefighter Runs 22 Marathons in 24 Days to Celebrate 72nd Birthday

Leading up to his 72nd birthday, Ruben Cantu recently completed 22 marathons in 24 days, despite developing a giant blister that threatened his journey. He continued on through the pain, because he wants to help fight childhood obesity and inspire more children to run. Cantu turned 72 on the day of his last marathon, March 27.

Cantu was taking place in the Race Across Texas[1], part of the larger Race Across the USA[2]. He was joined by a handful of runners who are running across the entire country, as well as some runners who were doing select marathons with the group. There were only two competitors who opted to run the length of Texas, however, and the other participant was 23 years old.

At times family members, who served as his support crew, joined him on the road. Cantu spent his nights in a mobile home.

On day one of his journey, Cantu ran through high winds, rain, sleet, and snow. On day two, he developed a blister, which covered about a third of the bottom of his foot, due to the steep camber along Highway 380.

“Eventually the right side of my foot became basically raw meat,” Cantu said.

He and his support team developed a system for caring for his blister, which involved putting four layers over it—the top one duct tape—before he resumed running each day. He says his times suffered, though, as did the rest of his body, which took more of a pounding as he tried to compensate.

He considered dropping out after 11 marathons, because the pain of the blister was becoming unbearable, but he continued on with his cause in mind. All of the participants in the Race Across the USA are spreading the word and raising money to combat childhood obesity, and he knew his message would be more powerful if he could make it the whole way across Texas.

“With that in mind, I didn’t want to quit. I wanted to come back and say, ‘Look what I did,’” Cantu said.

With his journey complete, Cantu is now speaking with schools near his home in Atoka, Tennesee, about getting involved with the 100 Mile Club[3]. He figures if he can run 582 miles in 24 days at age 72, he can convince kids that they can run 100 miles within a school year.

“We didn’t have computers, of course, when I was a kid," Cantu said. “We didn’t have iPhones or smartphones. We were outside doing things all the time. That is no longer the case.”

Extreme feats of endurance are nothing new to Cantu. He has finished the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon six times, he’s run five 100 milers, and he’s covered more than 100 miles as part of 24-hour races several times. He hasn’t run an ultra since 2009, the year of his last Badwater, but he says his run across Texas was tougher, “because of the daily beatings.”

While in the maintenance phase of his training, Cantu normally runs 6-10 miles, 3-5 times per week. While training for the Race Across Texas, his runs were between 10 and 18 miles. His irregular work schedule made it hard for him to follow a consistent schedule and run every day, but he estimates he ran 60-70 miles every nine days.

It’s less than he used to train. He recalls doing 30-35 miles every Saturday and 40-50 miles on Sunday once a month while training for Badwater 15 years ago. “I can’t do that anymore,” Cantu said. But for a 72-year-old runner, his body has held up remarkably well. “I can’t explain why,” he said. “I have no clue.”

Despite his extreme accomplishments, Cantu hasn’t always been a runner. At age 29, he loved lifting weights, until he went for a Navy physical. “The doctor said, ‘You look beautiful, but what about your insides, knowing your family history?’” Cantu recalled.

His family has a history of cardiovascular disease. His mother, father, and five of his 10 siblings have all passed away due to cardiovascular disease. He immediately took up running, in an attempt to “beat the system” he said, but he didn’t truly get serious about the sport until 1983, when he was 40. He ran his first marathon and got hooked on longer distance races. He developed a goal of running at least 1,000 miles each year, something he’s been able to achieve most years since.

Of his remaining siblings, Cantu is the only one who doesn’t take medication for cardiovascular problems. He credits that to his running and his healthy diet.

“I thank God for giving me the ability to maintain my health and the chance to be a runner and realize it early enough that I should do something like what I’m doing,” Cantu said.

His good health has also allowed him to work full-time as a firefighter for the past five years. After retiring from the Navy in 1983, Cantu worked in the aerospace industry. In 2005, he retired and he and his wife moved to Tennessee to be near family. He says he “wanted to do something constructive” in retirement, so Cantu began volunteering with the Munford-Atoka Fire Department.

Though he began as a volunteer, when a full-time position became available in 2010, he earned it. “I’m enjoying the heck out of it,” said Cantu, but he will retire this summer to allow himself to spend more time doing other activities.

Cantu has no plans to retire from running, however. He’s already thinking about the races he might run in the coming year. As long as the challenges are out there and his body is able, he will keep going after them.